Coin chute



July 7, 1942- w. PATZER ETAL 2,288,834

GOIN CHUTE Filed May 26, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 William pa ez' @ad Walzev ATZ 5c INVENTORS 7145/1@ ATTORNEY.

Patented `luly 7, 1942 UNITED sTATEs PATENT ori-ICE COIN CHUTE raue: and walter A. misch, hicago, lll.

Application May 12%, i939, serial No. 275,879

s claims. (ci. 'isf-loi) ,n

' This invention relates to coin testing devices and has as its principal object the provision of automatic blocking or deecting means arranged for cooperation with a hand-operated discharge or scavenging gate in a gravity type coin chute. A further and more particular object is the provision of blocking or defiecting means in a coin chute having a descending coin passage and a side exit which is normally closed by a gate, the deflecting means including a resilient member attached to a side wall of the chute opposite the exit opening and having a pluralityof fingers projecting through the wall into the chute passage so that one of the fingers may engage the gate in its closed condition, to move the resilient member and withdraw another of the fingers from the passage and out of obstructing position in the latter to permit free passage of coins therein, the resilient member moving to project a withdrawn finger relative to the passage as soon as the gate begins opening movement.

Viewed from another aspect, it is an object of the invention to provide fraudpreventive means for cooperation with the scavenging gate of a coin chute, said means including a spring strap attached at one end to the side wall of the chute and having a pair of fingers projecting through the wall into the chute passage, one of the fingers engaging the gate and the other finger projecting into a blocking position in the passage when the gate is opened to permit the strap to ex into its normal position.

Other objects, advantages and economies peculiar to the invention reside in certain details of construction, as well as the arrangement and operation of the parts described hereinafter as constituting the preferred embodiment of the invention, all of which will be more readily understood by reference to the annexed drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of the coin chute, looking toward the scavenging gate, a portion of the latter being broken away to expose part of the fraud preventive means;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective showing "the wall opposite the gate and the novel fraudpreventive means;

Fig. 3 is a `fragmentary cross section looking in the direction of line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional detail view of the coin chute as seen from line 4 4 in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, showing the interior coin passage of the coin chute, and is taken substantially along line 5-5 in Fig. 4.

The coin chute is of the gravity type such as the one shown in our U. S. Patent No. 2,249,225 of July 15, 1941, and is preferably constructed with a pair of vertical wall plates mounted in spaced relation to define a vertical well or passage of considerable depth. At the upper end of the chute. there is provided a widened coin entrance l0 and beneath this entrance interiorly of the chute is a downwardly inclined ledge II (Figs. 1 and 5) terminating at an end I2 from which the gravitating coins depart into an enlarged part of the passage for movement into engagement with selecting means such as the deflector I3 or a rebound anvil I4 for ultimate guidance into an acceptance passage I5 or a reject passage I6. The latter passages are defined by a separator I1 having a deflecting point I8 on its side toward the anvil and an upper edge portion I9 which inclines away from the point I8 toward the acceptance opening I5.

The type of chute illustrated is adapted to accept coins of three denominations, for example, five, ten and twenty-five cent pieces. The arrangement is such that the ten and twentyfive cent pieces, by virtue of their mass and metallic content and the selective effect of a permanent magnet 20 having its poles positioned near the end I2 of the runway ledge, are caused to drop onto the deflector I3 for movement toward the left into the acceptance opening I5 either directly or by suitable angular contact with the surface I9 of the lowermost separator I1. The five cent pieces, however, depart from the end of the runway with greater energy and are carried down onto the anvil I4 to rebound from the latter over the selector or segregator I1 and into the acceptance passage. The normal operation of the coin testing chute being as shown and described in our aforementioned Patent No. 2,249,225.

The permanent magnet 20 is arranged with its pole pieces flush with the interior face of the wall upon which it is mounted at a point adjacent the terminating end I2 of the inclined ledge II. A gate member 2l is hung on a pintle rod 22 seated in ears 23 along the top edge of the chute so that the gate pivots about a horizontal axis extending parallel with the width of the chute body. 'I'his gate member 2I forms a normal wall portion of the testing chute passage and is adapted to'be swung about the pintle 22 by means hereinafter to be set forth. A plate 20 is fixedly attached to the gate member 2| and this plate 20' is of a size substantially corresponding to the exposure of the faces of the vtwo pole pieces which face intothecoinpassage asV heretofore set-'forth'.v ThefplateZIJIY-is-of 8J- paramagnetic metal 'andfunctions to confine'fthe l. magnetic field set 'up between the two'pole pieces; to the area adjacent the terminating end `I2' 'of- I the eddy currents.r y

coins lose kinetic energy inpassing through the the ledge II.

The selective movement of v mined in the first instance by their electricaloonductivity. Dimes and quarters contain-amounts of silver rendering them much more highlycon- V` ductive in terms of ohmic resistance'than 1s the nickelI it being known of course that nickel itself has a relatively high resistance constant. All"- bythe' gewagt-which is nung' ori the pinne* rod acceptance opening -I 5 22.; "Thisgate 2l' forms la* movable sidejwall of tln'ashape"A shown inging. .i 'to c oactfvi'fith the back j l wallofthe `chute to denne a---coin passage inthe upper region-of' the chute. The lower reg-ion vof v .thechute has a-nxed' wan nwnich with the the coins is deteryback' wall defines a.-coin passage vadjacent `the j.

andrejectpassage I6 (seeA 4'Fig .'1)'. y

Mechanism providedI forscavenging the de'- vice and this'ymechanismincludes a lever 24 piv- Y oted as at onafside ofthe,A chute and having .an extension'26 which'zpas'ses through the chute to engagea roller-'21 onthegate..- By exerting tivity for a given strength of the field. The reason for this is that eddy currents are set up in i theV coin as the result of this movement through the magnetic field and these currents always produce their own iield about the coin, which field is in opposition to the i'leld which induces In consequence of this, all

field of the vstationary magnet, and since the dimes and quarters have less resistance, or in other terms a greater conductivity, the eddy currents induced therein will have a higher current field to oppose the movement of the coin through the main field. Conversely, the .ve-centpieces having a higher resistance, resist the induction therein of eddy currents to a greater degree, and

therefore the reactive field set up therein is weaker, in consequence of which the nickels are able to continue moving through thel main magnetic field at a greater rate than is possible for lthe dimes and quarters.

'The five-cent pieces therefore travelv farther from the end I2 of the run-way ledgeV III and 'are able to strike the anvil I4. The quarter is p matter of our Patent Serial No. 2,249,225, they application of which was copending with `the present one. This deector is fixedly mounted on the gate member 2| and has a lateral extension 36 projecting through an opening 31 formed in the gate member to provide a deflector means whereby coins or slugs having'a lesser resistance or greater conductivity than dimes or quarters v will be prevented from swinging about the terminal end I2 of the ledge II in a manner such that they will drop to the left of the testing ledge or testing deflector I3. The action of such coins is best illustratedv in the dotted line showing in Fig. 5 wherein a coin having the characteristics of greater conductivity than acceptable coins is shown engaging the ledge 36 prior to being detlected to the dotted line trajectory.

, In order to clear the chute of coin elements arrested by the magnet 20, or by any other testing means arranged to test coins in the region of the runway ledge I I (e. g. feelers and the like) one side of the passage is cutaway in the region adjoining and opposite the magnet 20 to provide a discharge exit, and this exit is normally closed ,av downward pressure 'onthe handle portion 28 of the'lever 24,'the` extension '2,6l will engage the roller 21 andthe gate"2l`wilgl'\be"s=wung outwardly vinto the dotted 4line positionishown in Figs. 3 land 4. Simultaneously a roller 46- on Ythe lever 24 will engage acam 41 onTalever 29 pivct'ally rmounted as at 38 on the backf-.wall'of'the chute,

and arrested coin elements will.v be jdislodged by simultaneous downward movement of'- t-he sweep vlever 29, so that the arrested'coinelements will gravitate toward the reject passage"Itipn the n chute. Any coins or' objects lodged on the runway ledge II abovean arrested coinwill gravitate onto a pitched pan P'beneath thejentr'ance opening II] and be directed through-the sidewise opening into a reject chute R. f

' Ordinarily, when an arrested coinfelementis dislodgedfrom arrested position by vthev move- Vment of the sweep 29, such dislodged coins gravitate at random along no particular `trajectory and occasionally might fall in a direction toward the left of the deflector I3 and accidentally into the acceptance opening I5.. Also'by fraudulent operation of the scavenging lever 2 4, arrested coins may skillfully be manipulated'toward the acceptance opening I5.

1n order to prevent fraudulent manipulation of the gate to cause arrested coin elements to be worked into a position for continued movement down the passage, instead of being ejected, there is provided a fraud-preventivemeans in the preferred form yof a spring strap 30 (Fig. 2) which has one of its ends anchored to the outer Aside wallof the chute opposite the gate by means such as the rivets 3|. The strap is inclined downwardly from its anchorage in a general direction toward the anvil, and there is provided a pair of rigid fingers 32 and 33 projecting laterally of the strap into the chute passage through suitable openings in the chute body.

One of the pins 32 projects across the passage just'beneath the lower end I2 of the coin ledgsl or rollway so as to be in an unobstructing posiA tion, and this pin (Fig. 3) is of a length adequate to cause its nose to bear against the inner side of the gate 2i when the latter is in its normally closed position, the length of this finger or pin 32 being such that when the gate is closed, the strap 30 will be fiexed away from the chute into the position seen in Figs. 3 and 4, to withdraw the other finger 33 from obstructing position across the coin passage, the pin 33 being shorter than thev pin 32. The disposition of the lower pin or finger 33 is such that it can block the coin passage area between the end I2 of the rollway and the deiiector I3, and hence can block direct entrance into the acceptance passage I5 when the gate is opened.

As a result of theblocking effect of the finger 33, all arrested coin elements and all coins of the ten and twenty-five cent denomination assasss whether legitimate or not, will be caused to move toward the reject passage it, and since the selective operationof the anvil is dependent upon the momentum of the coin, if it be a proper one, all arrested `coin elements (and such coins as bound from the deiiector II) striking the anvil will move into the reject passage Il. Should scavenged coins escape the action of the sweep 2l by fraudulent'manipulation of the gate and control mechanism in an effort to work the coins past the sidewise exit opening by rapid partial opening movements of the gate or by piling a series of coins up in4 the passage between the entrance i0 and the end I2 of the runway. or by other defrauding expediencies. The nger Il will be disposed across the coin passage and hence any coin falling in the direction of the acceptance opening II will be guided by the nger Il as well as the deilector I3 toward the reject passage I0.

The fraud-preventing means may be made extremely sensitive by properly regulating the length of the strap I0, the lengths of the fingers 32 and 33 relative to each other and relative to the width of the coin passage, as well as the spacing of the fingers relative to each other, the inclination of the passage and their respective distances from the `anchored end of the strap 30. It will be apparent that the displacement of these fingers responsive to movement of the gate, is dependent, in part, upon the length of the lever arm or strap 3D and the distance between the fingers relative to the flexing point or fulcrum of the strap or lever arm.

'I'he objects and advantages of the invention may be realized in forms of construction other than that specifically described herein for purposes of illustration, and the foregoing description is not intended to be a limitation upon the invention except as may be provided in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. In a coin chute of the type having a descending coin passage with a sidewise exit opening and a normally closed scavenging gate for said opening, a plurality of exit passages below the level of said gate, and testing means for variously directing coins into said exit passages; fraud-preventive means comprising: an elongated spring member fixed near one end to said chute with its opposite end inclining downwardly opposite said gate, a finger between the ends of said spring member projecting into said passage for engagement with said gate, said finger being of a length to cause said spring member to be flexed away from the passage when the gate is closed, and a blocking finger projecting from said spring member into said passage in a position to deflect coin elements into a particular one of the aforesaid exit passages when the gate is opened, said blocking finger being disposed out of obstructing position by flexing of the spring member when the gate is closed as aforesaid.

2. In a coin chute having a descending coin passage with an' entrance opening in its upper region and a plurality of `exit openings in its lower region together with a sidewise opening exit and gate therefor disposed between said entrance and exit openings, fraud-preventive means in the form of an elongated strap secured near an end on the outside of said chute so as to incline the opposite end downwardly, sai'd strap thereby being arranged to move in a direction laterally of the chute passage toward and away from said gate and having a portion disposed substantially opposite the gate. a finger projecting from said strap in unobstructing position across said coin passage for engagement with the inner side of said gate and being of a length sumcient to cause movement of the strap away from the gate out of a normal position when the gate is closed, and a blocking linger on said strap and projecting into blocking position in said passage when the strap is in normal position, said blocking ngerbeing disposed out of blocking relation to the passage when the strap is out of normal podtion corresponding to closed condition of the gate as aforesaid, said strap beingV arranged and constructed to move into normal position responsive to opening movement of the ga Y 3. In a coin chute of the type including a side exit and a side opening gate therefor, a blocking device cooperable with said gate and including an elongated spring arm xed at one end on the outside of the chute so that the opposite end may flex toward and away from the gate laterally of the coin passage, a blocking member arranged on said arm for movement by the latter into blocking position relative to said passage when the arm moves into a normal position in a direction toward said gate, said arm being biased for movement into said normal position, and pin means on said arm projecting in a directionl laterally of said passage into engagement with said gate and being effective to flex the arm out of .normal position by engagement with the gate when the latter is closed, whereby said blocking member will be disposed out of blocking position.

4. A coin chute having, in combination, means providing a descending coin passage with an entrance in its upper region and a plurality of exits in its lower region, a rollway beneath said entrance and terminating above said exits, a sidewise exit in the region near the terminus of said rollway, a normally closed gate movable laterally away from said passage to open said sidewise exit, coin testing and selecting means for effecting selective movement of coin elements from said rollw'ay into said rst-mentioned exits, and fraud-preventive means including an elongated arm fixed at one end on the outside of said chute so as to incline the freev end portion thereof downwardly in the general direction of said first-mentioned exits, a finger projecting from said arm across said coinV passage in unobstructing position so as to be engaged by the inner side o1 said gate when the latter is closed, said finger being of a length to cause said arm to be moved out of a normal position in a direction away from said gate as a result of engagement of the finger with the gate in the manner aforesaid, and a blocking finger projecting from said arm in a direction across said passage and positioned in blocking position relative to the passage inthe region below the terminus of the rollway and above said first-mentioned exits when said arm is permitted to move into normal position responsive to opening movement of the gate, whereby to deflect coin elements away from a particular one of said first-mentioned exits, said arm being biased for movement into normal position when the gate is moved away from said first-mentioned finger.

5. In a coin chute of the type including opposite vertical wall members defining a descending coin passage having a plurality of coin exits in its lower region, a discharge exit above said first-mentioned' exits` one of said side wally members, and a gate'normally closing said discharge exitand movable into and out of Open andV closed position laterally of said wall mem-y bers.-rraudpreventive means including an-'elongated spring' blade having'one o! its'` ends attached tothe side wall portionot the chute op-L posite the gate so as to incline an opposite free end portionfof the blade toward the lo wer en'd'of4 the chute, said blade being biased into normal position ytoward said gate, a blocking iinger pro jecting` from "theunattached portions or the bladev and movable through an openng in said' wan portion to which the blade is attached and into blocking engagement by coin elements moving toward said first-mentioned exits for the pur-'f pose of guiding coin elements engaging thewsame into'a certain'one of said exits, 'and means for flexingr said blade out ofA normal position to withdraw said blocking nnger `from the passage,'said` means including a gate engaging member secured to the unattached portions or the blade and projectingvthrough the chute for engagement withl the inner side of said gate when thel'atter is closed,.=th`e gate inv closed position' flexing said blade through bearing i engagement' with said gatesengaging member. f

6'. In a coin chute of the type having a coin passagedetined betweenr opposite wall' members with a discharge "openingin one of said members'a'nd av gate normally closing said opening and movable laterally of said wall members into and'out of closedV position, blocking means comprising: a spring'blade fixed near one end to the outside of -the wall member opposite the gate,

said blade having a pin passing through said opposite wall member and of a llength adequate tov be engaged and displaced by said gate,k so as to spring the'blade in a direction awayfrom the gate when `the latter is closed,"and'a c oin block ing finger on` said blade and-'spaced away from saidl xed end thereof and l the pin `and extended so as to projeiiztv through said opposite :the: gate `toward closed position as aforesaid.

1 WILLIAM 'PATZER.

A. f TRATSCH. 

